Things to Do in Birmingham
Canals, former industrial quarters and a tight central core define Birmingham, so a day here works best when it is built around two or three walkable areas.
Canal towpaths in the centre
Birmingham has a network of canals that thread through and around the heart of town. The towpaths are level, often paved and usually shared with walkers and cyclists, which makes a stretch of water a good public place to talk without noise. Canalside areas have benches and cafes, and you can climb back up to the street at the next bridge whenever you like.
Birmingham has a network of canals that thread through and around the heart of town.
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The Jewellery Quarter for a slow afternoon
The Jewellery Quarter sits north west of the middle and still looks like a working district, with small workshops, narrow streets and old shopfronts. It suits a wander with a stop for coffee. Some small businesses keep shorter hours at weekends, so look at the streets rather than depend on one particular door being open.
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Somewhere to book a room or a table for the evening, in Birmingham itself.
Digbeth for railway arches and warehouses
Digbeth lies south east of the centre, a district of arches, former factories and warehouses now used for studios and small creative businesses. It is rougher around the edges than the shopping streets, so visit in daylight and know where you are heading.
Digbeth lies south east of the centre, a district of arches, former factories and warehouses now used for studios and small creative businesses.
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When it rains
A city this size has plenty under a roof: large public museums and galleries, covered shopping streets and arcades, and cafes that do not mind a long conversation. A number of the big public museums and galleries do not charge for entry, though special exhibitions can, so check before you travel.
A city this size has plenty under a roof: large public museums and galleries, covered shopping streets and arcades, and cafes that do not mind a long conversation.
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Day trips by train
Birmingham has three main stations, Snow Hill, Moor Street and New Street, and between them they link the city with towns such as Warwick, Lichfield and Worcester. A market town and a riverside or cathedral walk make an easy change of scene, and none of these trips needs a car.
Birmingham has three main stations, Snow Hill, Moor Street and New Street, and between them they link the city with towns such as Warwick, Lichfield and Worcester.
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Getting around and planning
Walking covers most of a central day, because the stations, canals and shopping streets are close together. A tram line and local trains reach the Jewellery Quarter, so look at a map before you set off. Weekend afternoons are the busiest time in the shopping streets.
Walking covers most of a central day, because the stations, canals and shopping streets are close together.
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Planning an evening
Early evening suits the canalside, when the light is softer and the lamps come on along the towpaths. Later on the towpaths can be dark and quiet, so stay on the lit and busier stretches. Work out your way home before you leave, and treat a taxi licensed in the city, taken from a rank or booked by you in advance, as your safest fallback.
Early evening suits the canalside, when the light is softer and the lamps come on along the towpaths.
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A note on age
Everyone using this site and its Birmingham listings must have turned 18, and the plans above assume you are travelling as an adult and making your own arrangements.
Everyone using this site and its Birmingham listings must have turned 18, and the plans above assume you are travelling as an adult and making your own arrangements.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. The canals and the Jewellery Quarter are both an easy walk from the central stations, so a half day can cover one area properly without rushing.
New Street is the largest, right at the core of town. Snow Hill and Moor Street are smaller and calmer, and each is close to the shops on foot.
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